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Might have to give those a shot too. I just tried a Shiraz and uh I don't like it! I think I need to find a wine tasting to go to otherwise I am going to go broke trying these different wines. The guy at store suggested a Wine Diary that way I can keep a list of what I like and don't like. So Far I have tried White Zinfandel which I can actually stand but that is not the wine my Dr. had in mind. I tried some Arbor Mist Sangria and it was just freaking nasty. I do have some Concord Grape Manischewitz wine. I had a little sip and it was actually not bad. Not sure sugar is what my Dr. had in mind. I am starting to wonder if I should just start doing Cherrios and oatmeal and walking 30 minutes a day.back to the drawing board!

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Wine does have some reported cardiovascular health benefits. However, as far as I know alcohol is immuno-suppressive and not recommended for us pozzies. I love wine and used to drink a few glasses of red a day, never to excess. My doctor was OK with that amount, but that felt short of recommending it. I decided to quit. This was on of my 2008 resolutions I kept so far.

Your doctor is right, however I would stay away from sweet wines as they're loaded with sugar and additives. The ones you're trying are awful and not fit to drink. Wine drinking is an acquired taste and it sounds like it's not one of yours. Maybe your doc can up with another idea that's more to your liking. Oh, but if you do decide to drink a glass of wine a day feel free, it's not in any way immuno-suppressive.

Your doctor is right, however I would stay away from sweet wines as they're loaded with sugar and additives. The ones you're trying are awful and not fit to drink. Wine drinking is an acquired taste and it sounds like it's not one of yours. Maybe your doc can up with another idea that's more to your liking. Oh, but if you do decide to drink a glass of wine a day feel free, it's not in any way immuno-suppressive.

Madbrain, alcohol can harm the immune system if taken heavily and chronically. We are talking here about a "therapeutic dose" of a glass a day. Red Wine contains polyphenols which have strong antioxidant properties, especially on the cardiovascular system. Full story below:

Alcohol and HIV There is no evidence that moderate drinking (a unit or two of alcohol a day) does any harm to people with HIV. However, if you have hepatitis or high levels of blood fats, then you may have to stop drinking alcohol altogether or cut down alcohol consumption. Full story from Aidsmap below:

Appleboy, I agree with Dachshund that sweet wines are to ban. Dry red wine is certainly the one your doctor was referring to. but if you don't like the taste, they are red wine supplements (capsules) that you can find in health stores. Red Grapes also contains the polyphenols found in red wine. So feel free to eat la lot of them.

The link may be old, but that doesn't mean the point has to be wrong. I have personally been given this information about alcohol's effects on the immune system by various health providers much more recently than 1992.

Great suggestions. I do believe that moderation is the key. She suggested only a single glass. Drinking has never been my thing (well ok when I was younger it was but I still had to force myself to drink). I have been doing some research on Grape Juice. There seems to be some recent studies that it (Made with Concord Grapes ie Welches) might have the same effect. Red grapes themselves might even be great because of the fact you are eating the skins which have a lot of flavonoids. Find below a few articles I found on this.

So maybe just some red grapes and concord grape juice might be just as good and I love grape juice! I think what I don't like the taste of in wine would be the alcohol itself. I might also check out the red wine capsules.

Thanks for all the replies and help on this topic!AppleBoy

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Madbrain, alcohol can harm the immune system if taken heavily and chronically. We are talking here about a "therapeutic dose" of a glass a day. Red Wine contains polyphenols which have strong antioxidant properties, especially on the cardiovascular system. Full story below:

Alcohol and HIV There is no evidence that moderate drinking (a unit or two of alcohol a day) does any harm to people with HIV. However, if you have hepatitis or high levels of blood fats, then you may have to stop drinking alcohol altogether or cut down alcohol consumption. Full story from Aidsmap below:

Appleboy, I agree with Dachshund that sweet wines are to ban. Dry red wine is certainly the one your doctor was referring to. but if you don't like the taste, they are red wine supplements (capsules) that you can find in health stores. Red Grapes also contains the polyphenols found in red wine. So feel free to eat la lot of them.

In 15 years of HIV treatment, spanning five HIV specialists, not a single one has warned me that the consumption of one glass of wine daily would be immuno-suppressive. The idea that doing so is simply pure, unadulterated BS.

The link may be old, but that doesn't mean the point has to be wrong. I have personally been given this information about alcohol's effects on the immune system by various health providers much more recently than 1992.

The original link was to a 1992 publication of the NIAAA -- NIAAA is part of the NIH (National Institutes of Health). NIAAA is the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The publication Alcohol Alert "is a quarterly bulletin that disseminates important research findings on a single aspect of alcohol abuse and alcoholism."

As is not uncommon for agencies of its type, the NIAAA has issued subsequent Alcohol Alerts on the same topic. Typically these are intended to update and replace the prior version. Since they are intended for semi-popular consumption, they do not usually get into explanations of what is different today, they are just reissued to keep them (relatively) fresh. The 2002 version is here

It is interesting to note that the new version focuses even more than the prior on the link between alcohol abuse and transmission risk. The two paragraphs which talk about the interaction of AIDS and alcohol appear to focus primarily on heavy alcohol use. The discussion on alcohol use by those infected has been curtailed and the primary recommendation in that area appears to be the following:

"Health care providers should monitor their HIV-positive patients' alcohol use and initiate interventions to reduce alcohol-related problems when necessary. To begin this process, health care providers should establish good relationships with their patients to encourage open discussions about substance use. Those discussions can form the basis for reducing drinking problems, increasing adherence to HIV medication regimens, and decreasing sexually risky behaviors. Many health care providers believe that, whenever possible, stabilizing the substance user's social life prior to initiating HIV therapy will increase his or her likelihood of sustaining treatment"_______________Hey Madbrain, apologies if this feels like piling on. I read all your posts with a lot of interest and appreciate the care you take to link to studies at NIH and similar agencies. Just wanted to point out that, in this instance, there was an update that might have been missed.

Lighten up for Christ sake. Dude asks a simple question based on a recommendation by his doctor. I assume she knows her patient well enough to feel confidant that she is not condemning him to a life of rabid alcoholism. The man admits he doesn't drink, doesn't like the taste, but thought someone might be able to help him choose a tolerable wine. Instead he gets a link to outdated study trying to prove an unsubstantiated statement that moderate alcohol consumption is immuno-suppressive. Jesus, save the drama for a disclosure thread.

Humm I might like Drama! Just call me Miss Drama Queen! Not! Boonespipple now that is some funny crap! I agree with Dachshund that my doctor knows me well enough that I am not going to drink myself silly. I myself and scared of drinking lots because alcoholism runs down both side of my birth parents families. I did get an e-mail from Dr. Hines this morning saying go ahead with the grape juice but only one tall glass a day because of the high amount of natural sugar. The email ended with this: Signed, Scrooge-doc! She cracks me up. She has the best sense of humor and bedside manner of any doctor I have ever met. So I think grape juice is what I am going to do. I am working really hard on just drinking mostly water so I doubt the one glass of grape juice is going to cause a sugar problem. Mucho Gracias!AppleBoy

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I myself and scared of drinking lots because alcoholism runs down both side of my birth parents families. Mucho Gracias!AppleBoy

Hey Bill,

I can understand that ! I gave up alcohol a very long time ago, because I am an alcoholic. My father drank like a fish, till the day he died. Whether I inherited that from him who knows. Maybe it's because he was buying me drinks in bars at 17 ! Just want to add, he thought I was 18 at the time !!

But I also want to add. I also never heard, that having a glass of wine a day would be bad for you. The only exception, is if you possibly have asthma, in which case, if you have a sensitivity to sulphites( which are in all wines). Another choice is Pomegranate, it's also a nutritious drink. I have my daily ounce of pomegranate.The pomegranate that I buy, has 6 grams of sugar per serving. A serving is one ounce ( since it's concentrated.) But , your doctor has your chart in front of her, so she most likely knows whats good for you !

That is true Biz. I asked her about Grape juice but the studies on it are just starting to come in. So she was not sure if Grape juice was just as good or not. She now agrees after I sent her some of the information I had found. So it will be Grape juice for AppleBoy and not a lot of it either as I don't need the sugar.

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That is true Biz. I asked her about Grape juice but the studies on it are just starting to come in. So she was not sure if Grape juice was just as good or not. She now agrees after I sent her some of the information I had found. So it will be Grape juice for AppleBoy and not a lot of it either as I don't need the sugar.

Good boy! There's a lot of literature out there about Concord grapes specifically. I buy unfiltered, unsweetened Concord grape juice from Trader Joe's and add 6 ounces to my daily bottle of low-carb sports drink and glutamine powder (10g) for the day's trip to the gym. Following Passover I also hit the discount bins for rabbinically blessed grape juice which I found to be mostly unsweetend Concord grape juice.